Atopy is a word of the Greek origin which means “abnormal reaction” or “being strange”, and refers to allergic symptoms that appear in skin, respiratory mucosa, ocular mucosa, intestinal mucosa, and the like in individuals with an atopic predisposition.
In particular, atopic dermatitis which is a representative type of skin diseases in people with atopic allergies causes skin irritation and itching. Atopic dermatitis also causes dry and sensitive skin, and gives people with atopic dermatitis an unpleasant feeling. Atopic dermatitis is reported to occur mainly from the inside of joint, such as the inside of elbow, back of knee and neck.
Such atopic dermatitis is reported to be present in about 0.5% to about 1% of the whole population. In children(infants), about 5% to about 10% suffer from atopic dermatitis, and even after they become adults, about 20% to about 25% of them suffer from persistent atopic dermatitis.
In particular, atopic dermatitis can continuously cause a lot of pain, and problems, such as the skin that is itchy and scratched all day and night, a broken night's sleep, the skin that becomes hideous, causing growth and development problems of young children and their noncompliance to society, can occur.
Recently, due to diversification of living environment associated with diversified social life influenced by environmental factors and mental stress, many patients with atopic dermatitis are present.
In particular, regarding factors that aggravate such atopic dermatitis, such as dry skin, changes in ambient temperature and humidity, severe exercise and excessive sweating, skin irritation caused by wool and fibers, food, drugs, house dust, animal hair, irritant chemicals, and inflammation or mental stress, causes and factors that cause atopic dermatitis have also been diversified.
To prevent and improve atopic dermatitis, a method of applying an anti-allergic agent or antimicrobial agent to the skin where atopic dermatitis occurs is used to alleviate symptoms. Also, by removing factors that can cause itching in advance, treatment for preventing aggravation of symptoms of atopic dermatitis is performed.
For example, atopic dermatitis is treated by applying a steroid anti-inflammatory drug to the skin where atopic dermatitis occurs for the improvement of symptoms, by avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and heady condiments for diet adjustment, by improving environmental factors, and by relieving stress.
However, if the steroid anti-inflammatory drug is used for a long time on a soft skin area, side effects, such as thinning of the skin or skin discoloration, may be caused.
In addition, when the aggravation of symptoms of atopic dermatitis is prevented by controlling food or relieving stress, patients with atopic dermatitis may have problems with nutrition management. The symptoms of atopic dermatitis may be temporarily relieved, but it is difficult to achieve fundamental prevention and improvement of atopic dermatitis.
Therefore, research and development of effective therapeutic agents for atopic dermatitis are required.